Engine structure



March 14, 1939.

48 E \llllllll i ENGINE STRUCTURE 3'Sh eets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1935Zmventor attorneys March 14, 1939. R. WJNTZER ENGINE STRUCTURE FiledJune 6, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 q m n w t. a

March 14, 1939. R. WINTZER- 2,150,535

ENGINE STRUCTURE Filed June 6, 1935 :5 Sheets-Sheet :s

ZSnnehtor (Ittomqs Patented Mar. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES ENGINE STRUCTURERudolf Wintzer, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Nordberg ManufacturingCompany, Milwaukee,

'Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application June 6, 1935, Serial No.25,350

3 Claims.

This invention pertains to engine structures, and relates moreparticularly to a simple means ,of constructing a light frame for areciprocating engine, which will support the engine cylinders and shaftin proper relationship.

One of the objects of the invention resides in the provision of meansfor rigidly tying the crank shaft supporting members to the frame inwhich the cylinder is mounted and supported, the means for tying theparts together comprising tension members preferably of high grade steelwhich coact with surrounding compression elements or members. 7

Another object of the invention resides in constructing a rigid cylinderyoke or supporting member which forms the water jacket in part aroundthe cylinder.

A still further object resides in dividing the cylinder transversely ofits axis so that the pistons with their rings may be readily inspectedwithout removing the pistons from the lower portion of the cylinder whenthe yoke above mentioned is removed from the engine, frame-with theupper portion of the cylinder.

A still further object is to attach and mount the upper portion of thecylinder with reference to the yoke so that said yoke and cylinderportion may be readily detached from the engine frame, to expose therings in the manner just specified, or for any other purpose.

A still further object is to provide means in connection with thetension bolts whereby they are positively stretched to a predetermineddegree, thereafter permitting the nuts on the bolts or rods to be set upor tightened by hand.

With these and other objects in View, reference may be had to theannexed drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view on the line I-- I of Fig. 2, withcertain parts broken away, illustrating the engine structure of myinvention;

Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view taken through the engine at rightangles to that of Fig. 1, and looking toward the left, showing one ofthe cylinders with the piston therein, the section being taken on theline IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a perspective view of the engine frame, the pistons andcylinders being omitted, and certain portions of the structure beingshown in a detached relationship prior to their final and permanentassembly and connection with the other elements of the frame; 7

Fig. 4, a perspective view of a pair of yokes employed in conjunctionwith the upper portion of the cylinder;

Fig. 5, a top plan view thereof; I

Fig. 6, a detailed vertical sectional view of one of the rods or columnsand its associated elements, with a slightly modified form of meanscooperating with the rod for holding it in position when the yoke isremoved; and

Fig. 7, a vertical sectional view of an engine employing the framestructure hereinafter set forth in detail and disclosing scavenging andexhaust ports.

In order to build a light weight, high speed i reciprocating engine, itis essential to maintain proper rigidity of the structure and to reducethe weight of the essential parts thereof, as far as possible. It isalso quite necessary to reduce the number of parts which enter into the.enginelfi frame, as far as possible.

Many attempts have been made to produce an engine having thesequalifications at a reasonable cost, but yet so far as I am aware, thishas not been effected. In order to bring about such 20 a satisfactorystructure, all the tension and compression which is usually carried bythe frame must be reduced to members which take up their respectivestresses in a direct line with such strains. The anchorage at either endof such 25 tension members has so far proven unsatisfactory, and whileit is a comparatively simple matter to take up the stresses on the loweror crank shaft end of the tension members, the upper ends have usuallybeen attached to a part of the frame 30 to which a cylinder head wasindependently bolted. The use of separate flanges between the cylinderhead and the frame, and the cylinder head and the liner, as well asseparate bolts to hold these elements together, produces a heavy 35structure and brings about unequal stresses.

The present invention-is directed to a frame structure which issupported on its own base and in which the frame is composed of lightbut adequately strong tension and compression members, the compressionmembers themselves. being rigidly cross-connected both transversely andlongitudinally. The compression members also have a shoulder or bearingat their upper end, 1 against which the cylinder supporting entablatureabuts, the cylinders being suspended from this entablature. l

The invention is applicable to single, or multicylinder engines, and itis in connection with the latter that it is illustrated. 5

With the foregoing andv other objects and advantages in view, referenceis had to the annexed drawings, wherein the reference numeral lldesignates the mainbearings, there being three of these as shownin Fig.3, the framebeing 2 designed for a two-cylinder engine. These bearings,of course, form the support for a crank shaft (not shown) which, inturn, is held against the upper main portion of the bearing shell ll orsuitable brasses mounted therein, there being a bearing cap or block 12located beneath each of said members H, said blocks being positionedbetween spaced lugs l3 and I4, there being a pair of said lugs for eachblock. These lugs extend downwardly from a portion of the base frameelement designated generally by l5, the outer element whereof extendslengthwise of the frame and is welded at its inner edge or edges as atI6 to the saddle-like member H which overlies the upper portion of themember II and carries the depending lugs l3 and M. This arrangementproduces a rigid yet light base for the engine.

Each of the members i1 is formed with an upstanding hollow boss orsocketed member 58, upon the upper end of each of which there is mounteda hollow column or.compression member l9, said members l8 and I9 beingwelded to each other where they contact. Each of the columns orcompression elements I9 is provided at its upper end with a collar orbearing element 2!, which, however, is not welded thereto until other ofthe frame elements have been positioned; or, conversely, the frameelements about to be described, may be assembled and secured to eachother, and the columns or compression members IS, with the members 2!permanently secured thereto, dropped down through openings formed incertain of the frame members and then welded to the lugs iii of the baseelement 11.

Each pair of columns is cross-connected by a web or plate 22, which isalso connected by welding to the member ll. Radiating ribs 23 extendupwardly from the member l'l upon each side of the web 22, and arewelded thereto. The vertically disposed ribs 23 are also welded at theirupper ends to a cross plate or shelf 24, while the other ribs are weldedat their upper portions to the columns iii. A web 25 is interpositioned.between each of the adjacent pairs of columns, being welded at itsedges to said columns and strengthened as by cross ribs 25 and 21 andthe horizontal ribs 28. The web 25 may be provided with an opening as 29(Fig. 3) to lighten the structure.

Plate 2 is provided with openings, one for each cylinder, which openingsare defined by collars or rings 3! which are welded to the plates orshelves 24, radiating ribs 32 extending from said collar or ring to eachof the adjacent columns, said ribs being welded thereto, to the shelf orplate 24'and to the ring, thus securely tying all the parts together andrendering the structure stiff and rigid while still being light.

Located above'the transversely extending webs 25 and in parallelism tothe plate 24 is a second plate or shelf 33, said plate'being producedwith openings through which the compression members or columns H! areinitially passed prior to being welded thereto and, likewise, withrelatively large openings for the reception of a yoke designed tocooperate with the upper portion of the cylinder, as hereinafterdescribed.

As will be seen upon reference more particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, theshelves or' elements 24 and 33 extend outwardly beyond the columns, andto those edges of the shelves which lie in parallelism to the crankshaft, there is welded a plate-like element 34, the plate at its lowerportion flaring outwardly andbeing welded to the adjacent portion of themember l5. Said member'34 has secured thereto a plurality of pads orfeet 35 having part openings extending therethrough which align withopenings formed in the bed plate l5 through which bolts may be passed tosecure the engine in place.

Upon the opposite side of the shelves 24 and 33 there is also secured bywelding a plate 36, likewise having its lower portion flared outwardlyand welded at its lower edge to the element [5. It also carries pads orfeet 35 having openings therein which align with openings in the bedplate to secure the engine in position.

Upon reference to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the right hand side ofthe shelf 33 extends outwardly to an extent greater than that on theleft, and there is welded to the outer portion thereof a plate-likeelement 31 which extends downwardly in a vertical direction with itslower end turned inwardly toward the shelf 24 where it is welded to theside plate or wall 36. This forms a boxlike structure which may beutilized as a scavenging header.

Such header is shown in Fig. '7 and is denoted generally by 371 in whichthere are present check valves of ordinary form denoted by 31 Thesevalves are essential because the heights of the scavenging ports and theexhaust ports, denoted, respectively, by 31 and 31 are identical, and itis clear that when the piston uncovers both sets of portssimultaneously, a pressure greater than that existing in the scavengingheader obtains within the. cylinder and for that reason would pollutethe scavenging air unless the valves were utilized. No claim to any sucharrangement is made in this case, however, as the same is old. The framestructure is of the same form as that shown'in the other figures.

Plate 33 has one or moreannular openings formed therein according to thenumber of cylinders present in the engine. Mounted in each of theseopenings and extending downwardly below the shelf 33' is an elongatedsleeve-like element 38 (see more particularly Fig. 2), said elementbeing welded to the shelf 33 to maintain it in rigid relation withreference thereto.

The engine cylinder is formed of two parts, 39 and M, the lower endwhereof is made of such external diameter as to make a close andrelatively tight fit with the ring-shaped member 3i into which, itextends (see Fig. 2). Mounting of the lower portion of the cylinderwithin the ringshaped member permits the cylinder to expand downwardly,and prevents distortion of the parts.

Throughout the major portion of the upper of the member 39 and formedexteriorly thereof is a chamber 42, the outer wall of which throughoutthe length of the member 38 is of such diameter as to make a close fitwith'the interior of said member 38. The member 38 at its upper end isprovided with a packing recess into which extends a gland 43, the glandbeing held in position by set screws or bolts Mi mounted in lugsextending outwardly from the body of a yoke or head piece denotedvgenerally by 45, and hereinafter more fully described. Said yoke isdesigned to hold the upper end of the cylinder, and the cylindersections are held together in close gastight relation by through bolts43 (see Fig. 2), a gasket as 4'! being placed between the machineturnedabutting edges of the sections of the cylinder.

The line of juncture, designated by 40, between the cylinder sectionsmay be upon a plane at right angles to the cylinder axis, or, as shownin 2, such line may be sinuous o-rtake the formof a sine wave. Thislatter formation will-be of par- .ends.

ticular advantage to avoid the development of a ridge which would beproduced by wear and which would cause the piston rings'to engage aprojecting edge completely around the inside face of the liner in ahorizontal plane.

Itmay be pointed out that by the time the piston has moved downwardlyinthe cylinder to a point below the juncture line between the upper andlower sections, the pressure obtaining within the cylinder will havebeen materially reduced, and, consequently, fear of leakage between thepiston sections need not be considered. This is particularly true wherethe joint is carefully made and a gasket is embodied in the structure.

The cylinder section 4! is held in position within the yoke by machinebolts 48 which extend through the yoke and into the upper portion of thecylinder.

The exterior of'the head section M of the cylinder is formed with ahelical rib 49 extending about the same, producing a tortuous channel incommunication with the chamber 32 for the cooling liquid or medium. Anopening 52 is shown as extending through the upper end of the cylindersection 5! and the yoke 55, into which the fuel valve may extend. Theyoke pieces are alike in form and are designed to practically abut eachother, having semicircular seats 53jformed in the proximate edgesthrough which the tension rods or bolts pass. The proximate edges ofsaid yokes are provided with oppositely disposed seats 45 (Fig. 4),designed to receive a key 56* which serves to lock the yoke'piecesagainst vertical movement relatively toeach other, and, in effect, toform an unit of the yokes, equalizing strains and stresses throughoutthe structure. Thus,

when the combustion pressure in one cylinder is at its maximum, that inthe adjacent cylinder may be at its minimum, and this inequalityinpressures would, therefore, be taken up completely around the circularportion of the upper face of the yoke.

The members I9 are placed under compression, the members l2 held totheir position, and the yokes 45 forced downwardly against the bearingmembers 2! by the utilization of tension rods 54. Said rods are threadedat their upper and lower At their lower ends they carry nuts 55 whichforce washers 56 against the lower portion of the member l2. At theirupper ends, they pass freely through the bearing members 2!, through theseats 53, rocking Washers being placed thereon above said seats andbearing upon the yoke structure with a nut 5'! overlying the uppermostwasher elements, which elements are denoted generally by 58. As will beseen upon reference more particularly to Fig. 6, the lower member orelement has a concave upper face while the washer immediately above thesame is provided with a convex face complemental in contour to that ofthe lower member. This permits the parts to rock and find a true fairbearing without placing undue strain upon the rods. A collar 59 isWelded to the rod and rests upon the bearing member 2 i. This assemblyof the parts permits the removal of the nuts 5?, the washers, the yokeand the upper portion 4! of the cylinder, without displacement of therods, inasmuch as the collars 59 would then bear upon the members 2| andprevent descent of the rods.

The various elements are so machined that the bearing elements orabutments 2| are of the same height throughout the engine and form abase upon which the yoke or cylinder supporting head 45 comes to rest,thus insuring an even bearing for the parts throughout.

In light weight engines, it is usual to make the piston of the trunktype, requiring no cross head which makes it necessary that the cylindertake all the side thrust. In case the cylinder is built in a singlepiece instead of two pieces, as herein shown, it is necessary to providemeans tohold the piston central when the cylinder is dropped over thepiston. It is also necessary to provide means to permit the rings toenter the cylinder without damaging them, which will require an openingin the enclosure wall as 34 and/ or 36, for piston ring clamping means.

The structure as herein shown and described, permits the removal of theupper part of the cylinder without the difficulty of keeping the pistoncentral, and also provides a means for ready examination of the pistonrings by turning the cranks so that the piston at its upper dead centerwill rise high enough to expose all of the rings above the joint betweenthe upper and lower sections of the cylinder. The construction setforth, moreover, is such that the various rods or bolts 5 3 may bestressed with a definite load, to take up the pressure exerted upon themembers I2, occasioned by the pressure exerted within the cylinder.

The preferred form is to provide the bolts as above described withcollars or bearing elements as 59, so that the main bearing caps may besecurely drawn to place and the crank shaft held in place thereby, whilethe upper part of the cylinder with its yoke may be removed forinspection. To properly tension these bolts, it has been found importantthat they be stressed with a definite load which may be brought about byplacing an hydraulic jack over the nut, the ram portion of the jackbeing secured to the bolt or rod at the threads extending beyond thenuts 55 or 51. The general practice is to stress these bolts with adefinite pressure and then tighten the nut by hand, thereafter releasingthe hydraulic jack. There is never any danger under such conditionsintwisting the bolt (i. e., setting up a twisting and tension stress),or to stress the bolts difierently each time a main bearing cap or yoke45 is removed.

It is, however, diflicult to attach a jack of this form to the boltbelow the nut 55 without the use of special equipment. In this instance,the jack is attached above as at '51, in which case, however, thebearing collar 59 cannot be used in connection with the bolt. Thearrangement shown in. Fig. 6 may then be employed, wherein a collar as6| is fixed to or formed upon the bolt adjacent its lower portion and aset screw 62 is thread-ed into the upstanding element l8 of the memberll upon the upper end of which the column is seated and secured. Thisarrangement when the set screw is turned inwardly beneath the collarpermits the collar to come to rest thereon and will then enable theupper end of the bolt to be stretched upwardly away from the set screw.

Placing the rods under tension places the columns under compression, andinasmuch as the various elements of the frame are directly interrelatedand welded together, the structure becomes rigid throughout and is notliable to distortion through any strains which may be imparted thereto.

The structure shown in the accompanying drawings and above set forth isdesigned primarily for use in connection with a single acting engine,whether it be a four or two cycle.

It is also adapted to double acting engines, as will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art. 7

Various accessory parts have, however, been omitted, as they do not formany essential part of the present invention.

It is also apparent that by utilizing the yoke construction as shown anddescribed, a material suited to the specific work may be employed. Forinstance, the yoke may be made from cast steel inasmuch as strength andrigidity is a necessary requisite, whereas a liner may be made of castiron, as that is the best material so far found for liner construction.The usual difficulty in making cast steel parts gas-tight need not begiven any particular consideration, as the yoke portion need only tohold tight against the lower water pressure employed for coolingpurposes.

What is claimed is:

1. In an engine, the combination of a base; a lower bearing member forthe shaft of the engine; a framework composed of a series ofinterconnected plates extending transversely of the structure; a seriesof columns extending upwardly from the base and interconnected with saidplatelik-e members, the columns terminating at a point above theuppermost plate of the frame; a yoke; a cylinder; means securing theupper end of the cylinder to said yoke; and a series of tension rodsextending through said columns, through the lower bearing member andcoacting with the yoke to hold the same in position upon the upper endsof the columns, said rods also serving to hold the lower bearing memberin position and to place the columns under "compression.

2. In an engine, the combination of a base; a series of columnsextending upwardly therefrom; a framework directly connected to saidbase and. to said columns, said framework comprising a series ofinterconnected horizontally and vertically disposed plates, theuppermost plate lying below the upper ends of the columns; a two-partcylinder mounted in openings formed in the framework; a yoke fixedlysecured to the upper portion of the cylinder; means securing thecylinder sections together; and tension rods extending through thecolunms and acting upon the yoke to hold the same in position upon theupper ends of the columns.

3. In an engine, the combination of a base; a series of hollow columnsextending upwardly therefrom; a framework connected to said base andsaid columns, said framework comprising a series of horizontallydisposed plates secured to said columns in spaced relation, theuppermost plate lying below the upper ends of said columns, and saidplates having aligned openings, a-cylinder mounted in said openings, ahead piece secured to the upper portion of the cylinder, said head pieceresting upon the upper ends of the columns; tension, rods extendingupwardly through each column and terminating above the head piece; andmeans for placing the rods under tension, said means overlying the headand serving to force the head pieces securely against the columns. 1 a

RUDOLF WINTZER.

